Abundant rain and hot spells in Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions over the past week bode well for the development of the April-September mid crop, farmers and analysts in the world's top grower said on Monday.
In the centre-west region of Daloa, which produces a quarter of national output, farmers said there had been two heavy rains in the spell, which would strengthen the pods on the trees.
"These rains are very important. They will allow an improvement in the quality of the cocoa that will be harvested in May and increase the quantity," Magloire Gnankan, a farmer whose plantation is on the outskirts of Daloa, told Reuters.
An average projection from exporters polled by Reuters last week predicted this year's mid crop would total nearly 321,000 tonnes, sharply up from around 250,000 tonnes last season but well down from initial estimates of up to 400,000 tonnes.
In the western regions of Soubre, Meagui and Gagnoa, farmers were happy with the amount of rain so far in April, reporting abundant downpours. They said the favourable weather meant many pods were ripe and that harvesting, although still slow, would pick up from May.
"The rhythm of the rains has been good during this month. There will be a lot of pods to cut during May. For the time being, the pickings are a bit slim," said Koffi Kouame, a farmer near Soubre, the heart of the cocoa belt. In the coastal regions of San Pedro and Sassandra, and in the southern region of Aboisso, farmers also reported good rains.
"It's hot and it's raining heavily in the bush," said Lassene Traore, a state agronomist based in Sassandra. "The mid-crop will be plentiful. I saw a lot of small pods on the trees last week which will mature in May. Some growers are already harvesting and drying their beans on the side of the road," he told Reuters.